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Rank: Advanced Member
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Message was deleted by User.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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VACATION VOCABULARY CHALLENGE
RAY: This puzzler was sent in by Bill Kojuck, who writes:
Last year, a friend of mine and his wife went on vacation to Key West. They spent most of their time either sport fishing on the high seas or carousing on Duval Street. My wife and I, however, prefer a very different kind of vacation. We like hiking and camping and using Stone Age toilet facilities. So we spent most of our vacation in the woods in California and the Pacific Northwest.
When we returned from our trips, we compared notes. I said to my friend that on our vacation we saw something that, when written down, has all five vowels -- and the vowels make up five of the seven letters in the word.
TOM: You mean, A-E-I-O-and-U were all in the same seven-letter word?
RAY: Right. Bill goes on: In fact, we saw not just one, but a few of these things. My friend said, 'When we got to Key West, we also saw something that when written down has all five vowels in its seven letters. In fact, we saw quite a few of these as well.”
Each of us wrote down our seven-letter word, and then exchanged papers. They were the same word. But what I saw and what he saw were very different things.
The question is, what did each of us see?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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THE TRAVELING SALESMAN
RAY: About 40 years ago, a guy took a job as a traveling salesman. He immediately fell out of favor with his boss, who assigned him to spend the winter traveling around exotic places like Moose Jaw, Maine and Freeze-Your-Butt, New Hampshire. He had to travel by car from one location to another, so he often found himself driving from town to town in the winter looking for cheap motels in which to spend the night.
He began to notice a disturbing thing. When he would stop at these motels, oftentimes the owner of the motel was also the clerk, and they'd have you fill out that little card--you know, name, address, home phone--in case you skipped out in the middle of the night. Also, the motel owner would ask him what he did for a living.
When he said he was a salesman, he would almost always be assigned a room on the second floor. I asked him if it had anything to do with the car that he drove. And he said, "I guess you could say so. At the time I was driving a Volkswagen." And that's your hint.
Why was he always assigned to a room on the second floor?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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PANTS ON FIRE
RAY: Long, long ago when he was just a lad, our producer, Dougie Berman, had three girlfriends. On Monday he would visit one, on Tuesday another, on Wednesday, the third one, and then he would repeat the process. On Thursday he would visit number one, etc. And each time he would make one of these visits, he would drive his car, but before he could drive the car, because it was a junker, he had to go through a little ritual. He would open the hood, and he would have to top off the coolant because it leaked coolant. He had to top off the power steering fluid. That leaked too. He had to fill up the oil because it was burning oil like crazy.
So he closes the hood, drives to girlfriend number one's house, and follows the same procedure every time he pulls into the driveway, and then he drives as far into the woods as he can so the other girlfriends won't see his jalopy. He does this for girlfriend number one, and then on Tuesday for girlfriend number two, and on Wednesday girlfriend number three, but when he pulls into girlfriend number three's driveway, an interesting thing happens. Fire erupts under the hood. At which point, he jumps out of the car, removes his pants, and beats out the flames. Then when the thing has finally subsided, he stashes the car, goes to her house, and tries to explain to her parents why he is coming to meet her with no pants on.
So this goes on and on, girlfriend number one, no problem, number two, no problem. But every time he visits girlfriend number three, same problem, the car catches fire under the hood. He can't explain it.
He takes this as an omen and dumps the other two girlfriends, and keeps girlfriend number three, because any girl that can set his pants on fire has got to be worth sticking around for.
So what is it about his visit to girlfriend number three that causes this conflagration under the hood?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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THE TROUBLESOME WILL
RAY: A rich old geezer passes away. When the lawyer reads the will, he's surprised to find out that the old geezer left his entire estate to his three nephews, Chip, Skip and Nunzio.
But the old man had the good sense to spend most of his money on women and wine. The only thing he had left was 17 sports cars. So the lawyer and the three legatees -- Chip, Skip and Nunzio -- show up at the carriage house to look at the cars.
The lawyer says, "Your uncle left one-third of the cars to Chip, half of the cars to Skip, and a ninth of the cars to Nunzio." Chip, Skip and Nunzio look at each other and say, "What the heck do we do now? There are 17 cars."
They don't know how to divvy them up. The lawyer's no help. They're ready to duke it out when who should waltz in but our old friend Crusty.
Crusty proposes a solution. What did he propose and, more importantly, why did it work?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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ONE FOR THE AGES
RAY: A teacher named Ms. Jones asks her third grade class if it's anyone's birthday that day and, to her surprise, even though there are 30-something kids in the class, no one raises their hand.
Ms. Jones then asks, "Well, is there anyone here who has a family member whose birthday is today?"
And little Katie raises her hand and says, "As a matter of fact, today is my father's birthday, and it's also my grandfather's birthday."
The teacher says, "Oh really -- how interesting!"
Little Katie goes on to say, "And they're the same age."
The teacher says, "Oh, no, no, Katie, that can't be." But Katie insists that they’re the same age.
So the question is: Can it be and, if so, how? Now, if you start thinking about February 28th and all that, you're barking up the wrong tree.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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THE FARMER'S STONE
RAY: This was sent in by Dave Etnoyer.
A farmer had a 40-pound stone which he would use to weigh 40 pounds of feed. He had a balance scale; he would put the stone on one side and pile the other side with feed, and when it balanced, that was it.
A neighbor borrowed the stone, but he had to apologize when he returned it because it had broken into four pieces. The farmer who owned the stone later told the neighbor that he had actually done him a favor. The pieces of the broken stone could now be used to weigh any item, assuming those items were in one-pound increments, from one pound to 40.
What were the weights of the four individual stones? So if you want to weigh one pound, six pounds, 11 pounds, 22 pounds, 39 pounds -- how would you use the stones, the thing you are weighing, and the balance beam?
And here's the hint: how would you weigh two pounds?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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THE DASHBOARD DEFINITION
RAY: This puzzler was sent in to us by Bob Shea.
Everyone knows that the panel on an airplane is called an instrument panel because it contains all of the flight instruments, which help the pilot and co-pilot know where their plane's going.
Well, a car also has instruments but it's not called an instrument panel. We call it a dashboard.My question, very simply, is, where does the term "dashboard" come from?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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THE METAL HELMET MYSTERY
RAY: This puzzler suggestion came from Benjamin Schultz.
In the beginning of the first World War, the uniform of the British soldiers included a brown cloth cap. As the war went on, the Army authorities in the war office became alarmed at the high proportion of men suffering head injuries. They decided to replace the cloth headgear with metal helmets. However, the war office was then amazed to discover that there were more soldiers hospitalized with head injuries than ever before.
It can be assumed that the intensity of fighting was the same before and after the change. So, why should the recorded number of head injuries increase when the men were wearing metal helmets rather than cloth caps?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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CRUSTY'S WEDDING BREAKDOWN
RAY: This puzzler is about Crusty's wedding. He's been married five times and this has to do with his most recent nuptials.
On the occasion of his most recent wedding, he had to take a long trip to meet his bride-to-be. It was quite a distance away to Unadilla, N.Y. So he took his most reliable car, his '65 Falcon, and makes his way through Massachusetts onto Route 7 in New York.
He's cruising along when all of a sudden, the car backfires and dies, and he coasts to the side of the road. He realizes immediately that his points have burnt out. Luckily in his glove box is a brand-new set of ignition points.
As luck would have it, his entire tool kit is in the glove box which consists of a screwdriver, a hammer and a jackknife. So he opens the hood and takes off the distributor cap and proceeds to remove the little screw that holds the points in. He deftly removes the screw, installs the new points...and drops the screw. Where does it go? Where it always goes! Inside the distributor!
And he can't get it out. He can see it. He can even touch it with his screwdriver, but he can't get it out. He runs to the trunk, and he finds in there the kind of stuff you usually find in the trunk.
A jack, a salami sandwich, a junky old lamp, a gallon of Filippo Berio extra virgin olive oil, and a 50-pound bag of dog food.
Using one or a combination of these things, he manages to extricate the screw from its hiding place inside the distributor within a matter of minutes. And he does not tip the car over on its roof. How does he do it?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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DON'T DO IT, FRANK!
RAY: An off-duty policeman is working as a night watchman in an office building. He's doing his rounds and he comes upon a closed door. Behind the door he hears voices; people are talking and an argument seems to be taking place. He hears someone say, "No, Frank, no; don't do it, you'll regret it." Bang! Bang! Bang!
The night watchman bursts through the door; what does he see? A dead man on the floor. And the proverbial what?
TOM: Smoking gun.
RAY: And in the room are three living people; a minister, a doctor, and a plumber. He walks over to the minister and says, "You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent."
How does he know that it was the minister that pulled the trigger?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Shipwrecked Saga
RAY: This is the first in the rising floodwaters series. A family of four and their dog get trapped on an island when rising flood waters tear out the bridge they used just a few hours before. Frantically they search for some means of crossing back to the mainland and finally, when they've just about given up hope, the son says, "I found a small boat and oars." They gather around but their joy is short lived because the manufacturer's instructions -- printed on the back of the boat -- say that the boat can carry only 180 pounds. Thank God Grandma's not here. It's just Mom, Dad, the two kids and the dog. And the dog is the only one of them who can swim.
Well, the father weighs 170. The mother says she weighs 130. The son is 90 pounds. And the daughter is 80. The dog weighs 15 pounds. Everyone can row except the dog, who can swim. And the question is: is there any way the family can be saved? And if so, what are the fewest number of crossings to save everyone?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Frank’s Party of Five
RAY: My neighbor Frank says to me one day, he says I have five children. I say I know that. He says half of them are boys. I said I'll get right back to you. Can you explain that?
TOM: Well, that's it huh?
RAY: Now if you think you know the answer...
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Pinewood Derby Debacle
RAY: This is a quasi-automotive puzzler, sent in by John Whittier. He writes:
This is the season for Cub Scouts all over the country to hold their Pinewood Derby Races.
My two sons built their cars and wanted to compete against each other at home prior to the real race. I built a simple racetrack using materials I had on hand. However, I only had materials to build a one-lane track.
I had planned to run the cars individually and use a stopwatch to time each car. So, son A would put his car at the top and let it go. I'd start the watch, and when it got across the finish line, I'd check the time. But when we attempted to hold races I discovered that the cars traversed my very short track in such a short time that I could not start and stop the watch fast enough to accurately measure the times such that we could really determine which car was faster.
My younger son, who was eight-years-old, came up with a solution. Remember, all we had were the two cars, the short test track, the stopwatch and the three of us.
What solution did he come up with?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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1000 $1 Bills and 10 Envelopes
RAY: I'm going to give you a thousand $1 bills. You come up with 10 envelopes.
Here's your assignment: Figure out a way to configure those 10 envelopes, that is, to put various numbers of dollar bills in those 10 envelopes, so that no matter what amount of money I ask you for, you can hand me some combination of envelopes and always be assured of giving me the correct amount of cash.
TOM: Let me get this straight. If you say, "Give me $637," I can say, "Oh, that will be envelope number one, envelope number six, and envelope number two."
RAY: You got it.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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The Top Secret Free Beer Code
RAY: Interestingly, this was sent in by an "anonymous donor" who didn't want his or her name associated with the puzzler in any way, shape, or form.
Here it is:
There's this unusual little bar, where you can get a free beer if you know the secret code.
The secret code works like this: you sit down at the bar. The bartender tells you a number. And you tell him another number. If it's right, you get a free beer.
For example, a customer goes up to the bar and the bartender says, "six." The customer says, "three," and he gets his free beer.
The second fellow goes up to the bar, and the bartender says, "twelve." The customer says, "six," and he gets his free beer!
A third customer sits at the bar, and the bartender says, "fourteen." The customer says, "eight." He gets a free beer.
You're sitting there. The bartender turns to you and says, "twenty-two."
What do you say?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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No-Brainer of a Non-Starter
RAY: This puzzler came from someone named Rob, who used to work for Applied Logic.
TOM: Let me guess -- he's fired now.
RAY: Unauthorized use of company e-mail. Rob says:
My wife owns a 1992 Olds Achieva with a quad-four, five-speed-manual transmission and power everything. One morning, she's heading out to work, and her car won't start. I go out and listen as she tries to start the car. She turns the key. Not even a click. Being in a hurry, she takes my car.
I put the battery charger on her car, and later in the day, I go out and I start it right up. I drive it around a bit to charge the battery. Everything's fine.
The next day, the exact same thing happens. I find instructions for determining if there's a drain on the battery. There's no drain. So, I buy a new battery.
Still, the problem persists. I jump start the car and drive to the dealer. The dealer can't find a thing -- and charges us $10. We told them to let it sit there overnight and try it in the morning. They called the next morning and said what?
TOM: It started right up.
RAY: So, we go to the dealer. My wife gets in with her keys -- and it won't start. We're standing there scratching our heads -- at which point, I ask her, "Did you just buy something for your car?"
And she says, "Yes!"
What did she buy?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Stack the Deck
RAY: Let's say you have two ordinary decks of playing cards, minus the jokers. So, you have a deck of 52 cards and another deck of 52 cards.
TOM: Same color?
RAY: Well, yeah. The backs of them are red. And the other sides, the business sides are the same. So you take them and you shuffle them up--mix them all up as best you can.
TOM: Both decks together? So one hundred four cards.
RAY: Right. And then you divide them into two equal piles. So, you've got a pile of 52 on one side of the table, and a pile of 52 on the other side of the table. Are you with me so far?
TOM: Yeah, I can tell already this is going to be so bogus! I can tell already. I can just tell. I have no idea what the question is, but...
RAY: I even don't know what the question is yet!
TOM: All right. So, I've shuffled 104 cards together, and I've split them back into two piles of 52 each, and I've got one pile here on my left, and one pile to my right.
RAY: OK? What are the chances that the number of red cards in pile A equals the number of black cards in pile 2? That's part one of the question. And then part two of the question: how many cards would you have to look at to be certain of your answer?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Bobo's "Don't Look Back" Tour
RAY: This puzzler was submitted by Dennis Michaud, from an outfit called Mathworks. The best thing about it? I don't have to obfuscate it-- it's pre-obfuscated!
Here it is:
The company that Bobo works for just finished a new product. They wanted to promote it across the country. Bobo was asked to travel by car to each of the 48 contiguous U.S. states to promote the product. He was told that he could visit each state in whatever order he chose, but the company wanted him to start in Delaware, at their headquarters.
They asked that he visit each state only once. He could not go back into a state he had already visited--this was the "Don't Look Back" product tour. So, Bobo sat down at his desk and began to plan his trip.
He realized immediately that it was going to be one long car trip. At that moment, his boss stopped by and said, "Hey, I'm going to join you when you reach your last state. I was born there and I've been looking for a reason to go back and visit. You can leave your rental car there, and I'll fly you back in my private jet."
Since Bobo hadn't planned his trip yet, how did his boss know which state was going to be Bobo's last state? And, which state would that be?
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Rank: Advanced Member
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How Does Pork Chop Boy Drive To Work? RAY: The inspiration for this puzzler was sent in by Warner Grenady. Of course, I had to add some obfuscatory details, and I personalized it a little bit. Some of you might remember our nephew Matt, whom we called "Pork Chop Boy," because his social life was so bad, he had to tie a pork chop around his neck even to get the dog to play with him. Anyway, some years ago he dislocated his right shoulder playing chess. It was "strip chess" actually, but, we don't have to go into that. His shoulder hurt so much that he couldn't move the shifter on his automatic transmission. He tried to reach over and shift with the other hand, but twisting in the seat hurt even more. But, Pork Chop Boy needed to drive to work every day, and he didn't have any way to get there. Tommy said, "No problem. You can use my car." He did, and he had no problem driving Tommy's car to work-- yet, he couldn't shift his own automatic transmission car. The question is, which one of Tommy's jalopies did Matt use to get to work, and why?
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